"For these things, too, and for a
multitude of others like them, we have only just begun to fight."

Our Documents: Franklin Roosevelt's Address Announcing the Second New
Deal
October 31, 1936

The day
after Franklin Roosevelt announced at the 1932 Democratic National
Convention "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the
American people," cartoonist Rollin Kirby picked up the phrase
"new deal" and soon newspapers all over the country were
referring to Franklin Roosevelt's plan as the New Deal. Initially,
President Roosevelt's programs attempted to bring about relief, recovery,
and reform with such programs as the
National Recovery Act
and the Agricultural Adjustment Act, but when those programs were
declared unconstitutional, President Roosevelt pushed through a new set of
programs starting in 1935, commonly referred to as the Second New Deal.

Programs
passed during the Second New Deal concentrated on providing relief and
reform to workers. The
Social Security Act
provided unemployment insurance and pensions to workers while the
Wagner Act
guaranteed workers the right to bargain collectively and negotiate
with their employers. A new public works program - the Works Progress
Administration (WPA) - was also introduced. The WPA employed people to
build public and government buildings, parks, and roads; artists, writers,
musicians, and actors were also hired by the WPA to create new cultural
productions such as plays, artwork, and history guides.

At a
campaign speech at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 31,
1936, Franklin Roosevelt explained to the American people what he hoped
these new programs would achieve. He was reelected that November having
captured 60% of the popular vote.